Grants talk:IdeaLab/Human Rights Olympics

Comments

Hi Lee, thanks for your idea. It's rare to see ideas to do work in Wikiversity, and I'm really glad you've submitted an idea to improve some of the content there. The Assessing Human Rights course looks like an adequately developed course on Wikiversity, and this project would clearly enhance that content for other educators who are looking to teach about the topic. The status reports could have some applicability outside of Wikiversity as well, and some information may be incorporated into other Wikimedia projects. A broader goal toward an Olympics-style event sounds really interesting as well. Here are the comments and questions I have so far:

• What needs do you have for this project? I see you've requested a community organizer, a researcher, and volunteers. In what ways would those skill sets serve this project?
• What expectations are there for content written by students on Wikiversity? I am only somewhat familiar with Wikiversity conventions and expectations, but my understanding is that the project is geared toward providing resources to teach about topics. Would the status reports be consistent with the scope of the Wikiversity?
• What colleges or universities were you thinking about working with? One factor limiting the the number of status reports that can be created through this project will be the number of students or classes you expect to be able to engage. Are there other university staff you can do outreach with?
• Do you think this project will need funding? Have you had a chance to check out the Rapid Grants and Project Grants programs to see what the Wikimedia Foundation is able to fund? Or, do you not require funding and more need logistical help on moving this project forward?

Thanks, I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 22:06, 13 February 2017 (UTC)

Thanks for your careful consideration of this proposal. Let me attempt to address your comments and questions:

• The essential need is for students who will engage with the course and research, write, and evaluate human rights status reports. Anything else is optional; here is my thinking on other roles. A community organizer could help to publicize the effort, perhaps by engaging political science professors or world cultures teachers who may decide to use this course as a class project. Individuals or groups who are interested in or concerned about human rights could be engaged in this project. A community organizer could organize a small-scale human rights Olympics-style event within their own community. Researchers could assist students who need help with researching, writing, and evaluating human rights status reports. Volunteers could become students, or recruit others to become students.
• Each status report that is created and linked to the gallery of such reports makes this resource more valuable. Each existing report serves as an example for new students who are writing reports. Each existing report begins to tell us more about the status of human rights worldwide. Each existing status report brings us closer to being able to hold a widely attended Olympics style event.
• I have met with two political science professors at our local university. We have agreed that I will meet with a Model United Nations class in April to present this project to those students. I hope to engage a few students from that group who are interested in writing human rights status reports. Perhaps the professor will grant class credits to students who complete this work. Also, I have been emailing political science professors at various colleges and universities, introducing them to the course and encouraging them to engage their students in this work. This has not yet been fruitful.
• If the project can attract students, then there is no need for funding. Funding could be used to advertise the course, perhaps through banner ads, or other channels. Funding could also be used to provide incentives, such as material, symbolic, or monetary prizes for well-written status reports. Funding could serve to sponsor the first Olympics-style event, perhaps held locally, regionally, or virtually. Also, a well-designed Wikiversity course on “Writing Research Reports” would be helpful to this project, and provide a generally useful resource through Wikiversity.

Thanks again for your help with this. --Lbeaumont (talk) 11:55, 14 February 2017 (UTC)

Lbeaumont, thanks for your response above. I should have introduced myself earlier-- I'm a community organizer working with the Wikimedia Foundation and am also in charge of this Inspire Campaign. I'm interested in setting up a time in the next week or so to chat about your idea over a call to help you think about how to move your idea forward, and to see where I might be able to support any of the work needed in your next steps. I usually like to chat over Google Hangouts, Skype, and I can also do something over the phone if you'd prefer. When you're able, could you send me an e-mail at cschillingwikimedia.org about your availability in the next week or two? Thanks, I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 01:17, 6 March 2017 (UTC)